I attended a private screening of the documentary 420 last night and must say, I woke up still thinking about it - which is typically a good sign with regard to movies - especially when the film has such an positive impact, you want to share it with others.
I spoke with the director of the film to see if there are any plans to screen the film in northern California, because if there isn't, I will volunteer my time and energy to make it happen. So many people come to mind that should and will see this film.
420 does a phenomenal job in making the case that the marijuana prohibition laws are responsible for all the damage with respect to marijuana victims. The greatest crime is the one that has been committed upon the citizens of this country by the federal government that continues to cover up the fact that marijuana was NEVER supposed to be placed in a Schedule 1 category. In the 70s the Schafer Commission was created to determine this very deliberation by the Nixon administration and not only did it conclude that marijuana did not belong in Schedule 1 (which is reserved for drugs with no medicinal properties) they determined that pot should be "decriminalized." It is mind boggling that 40 years later, over 20 states in this country have passed medical marijuana laws and yet, the federal government continues to argue that pot has no medicinal value and moreover, that the federal gov't trumps state laws. Some of the footage of the federal gov't's abuse, with regard to raiding and arresting law abiding citizens was very disturbing, especially since I live in Northern CA, which was hit so hard by the Oakland raids, not to mention the landlords who have been threatened with foreclosure by the federal gov't.
I could go on and on because the film did such a great job of covering the history of pot, but I've probably already given away a few key points that would be more powerful if seen by viewers, rather than read in any review. I hope this film will be available for the mass populace soon, because they sooner people see it, the sooner we can change the minds of the final die hards who simply don't understand the true history of pot and that legalization is the only answer for the future.
I spoke with the director of the film to see if there are any plans to screen the film in northern California, because if there isn't, I will volunteer my time and energy to make it happen. So many people come to mind that should and will see this film.
420 does a phenomenal job in making the case that the marijuana prohibition laws are responsible for all the damage with respect to marijuana victims. The greatest crime is the one that has been committed upon the citizens of this country by the federal government that continues to cover up the fact that marijuana was NEVER supposed to be placed in a Schedule 1 category. In the 70s the Schafer Commission was created to determine this very deliberation by the Nixon administration and not only did it conclude that marijuana did not belong in Schedule 1 (which is reserved for drugs with no medicinal properties) they determined that pot should be "decriminalized." It is mind boggling that 40 years later, over 20 states in this country have passed medical marijuana laws and yet, the federal government continues to argue that pot has no medicinal value and moreover, that the federal gov't trumps state laws. Some of the footage of the federal gov't's abuse, with regard to raiding and arresting law abiding citizens was very disturbing, especially since I live in Northern CA, which was hit so hard by the Oakland raids, not to mention the landlords who have been threatened with foreclosure by the federal gov't.
I could go on and on because the film did such a great job of covering the history of pot, but I've probably already given away a few key points that would be more powerful if seen by viewers, rather than read in any review. I hope this film will be available for the mass populace soon, because they sooner people see it, the sooner we can change the minds of the final die hards who simply don't understand the true history of pot and that legalization is the only answer for the future.